Suffrage Rights Policy

Democracy is stronger when we bring more people to the table. Communities that pass pro-suffrage policies give the right to vote to those once excluded from the process, which reinforces our country's democratic principles. Not all local governments have the power to expand suffrage on their own, but some do. Regardless, communities can always petition their state government to permit them to expand suffrage. Examples of pro-suffrage policies on this page include:

Extending voting rights to all residents after leaving incarceration

Extending voting rights to all residents who are non-citizens

Extending voting rights to all residents after they turn 16

Re-Enfranchisement of Ex-Offenders

Only two states (Maine and Vermont) currently allow people to vote while in prison. In other states, those who have served time for a felony conviction are barred from ever voting again, or required to wait for a period of several years before they may petition the governor for the reinstatement of their voting rights. The application for restoration of voting rights is frequently long, and requires a subjective personal evaluation by the sitting governor of the state. Moreover, under certain states’ redistricting schemes, persons incarcerated for felonies are incorporated into census data according to where they are serving time, and not where they permanently reside. This is unfair for two reasons: these individuals are not able to vote while incarcerated, though they are used in census data for electoral districting; also, these individuals are should be represented by a government official who provides services for the district in which they permanently reside, and not where they are temporarily incarcerated. FairVote supports the direct reinstatement of voting rights to all persons who have served time for a felony conviction. Ideally, a state would also allow a person serving time for a felony conviction to vote while in prison, as they are already being counted for census data while in prison. Moreover, the decision to reinstate voting rights should not be left entirely in the hands of the state’s governor. Allowing one elected representative to administer rights is a system rife with the possibility of bias. Therefore, the system of re-enfranchisement needs to be automatic to avoid abuse.

Lowering the Voting Age

Voting rights in the United States have expanded steadily since the nation’s founding, growing to include groups – like women and African-Americans – who were previously excluded. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment further expanded suffrage rights, guaranteeing a right to vote to those over 18. It was the fastest amendment to be ratified in U.S. history – a sign of its broad support. However, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment has been incorrectly interpreted by some as establishing a minimum voting age of 18 years old, rather than affirming the right to vote for persons who are 18 or older. This interpretation prevents persons younger than 18 from voting in any elections that are not primary elections. As states are not precluded from allowing persons younger than 18 to vote, they may pass laws to expand suffrage to citizens younger than 18. Lowering the voting age to 16 would give the opportunity for young, active, and responsible members of our society to participate in our democracy. Under the current system, the same high school students who are studying American democracy and political processes are barred from participating in them. Students that are working jobs and paying taxes are denied a voice in choosing their government. Providing a right to vote earlier in life will allow young adults to develop a sense of pride in contributing to their community and foster a spirit of democracy that may last a lifetime. It would also help to address the disproportionate levels of turnout between young and old voters, which under the current system causes the voices of young people to be underrepresented in government. Critics of a lower voting age argue that 16 and 17 year-olds are not capable of effectively exercising their right to vote. However, empirical research suggests that members of this age group are as well-informed and politically mature as 18 year-olds, and have an equally well-developed sense of citizenship. Studies also indicate that the “vote quality” of votes cast by 16 and 17 year-olds (their ability to select candidates that accurately reflect their interests and preferences), isas high as that of older voters. Research also suggests that 16 and 17 year-old voters may actually turn out for elections at higher rates than 18 year-olds. Given the lack of evidence for arguments opposing a lower voting age, there is no compelling justification for withholding suffrage rights from these citizens.

Non-Citizen Voting

Federal law currently prevents non-citizens from voting in federal elections unless specifically authorized to do so by a state constitution, state statute, or local ordinance. These legal immigrants live and work in our communities, participate in our economy, and 35,000 of them even serve in the military, but they are nonetheless denied the right to vote. Like our founding fathers before the American Revolution, they are subjected to taxation without representation in government. Without the right to vote, they have no say in the laws and policies that govern their lives. Extending suffrage rights to non-citizens who are legal and permanent residents of the United States will end an unjustified source of discrimination that relegates these individuals to the status of subjects, unable to fully participate in the civic life of the communities in which they live and work.

At present, non-citizen legal residents who register to vote, often without realizing they are breaking the law, are faced with jail time and even deportation. However, this was not always the case. At the time of the founding of America, non-citizen residents were allowed to vote in most elections. New York and Massachusetts became the first states to ban voting by non-citizen residents, fearing the influence of French radicals settling in the United States after the French Revolution. Over forty states have at some point allowed non-citizens to vote, but most abandoned these policies in the period between 1900 and 1926, often spurred on by nationalist sentiment related to World War I.

Granting the right to vote to non-citizens is permissible under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. At the state level, legislatures can pass legislation to allow non-citizens to vote. At the local level, local governments can enact ordinances through city council resolutions supporting the right to vote for all residents of the community. Additionally, state and local governments can step-up voter education efforts, so that non-citizens are aware of their rights and of the voting procedures in place in their communities. They can also train poll workers on the eligibility criteria for voting, to ensure that voters are not unlawfully turned away from the polls.